Photos and Phun

photo courtesy of http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/paulaximenes/sloth.htm

aww, so cute
photo courtesy of http://www.sloth.4t.com/pictures.html

"where's waldo ?"
photo courtesy of http://www.sloth.4t.com/pictures.html

Sloth game and quiz

Conservation Organizations

www.wwf.org.uk/core/wildlife
WWF, the worldwide wildlife federation works along with local
organizations to increase community's knowledge ofits natural
resources, along with raising money to help
endangered species.

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/ The UNEP World Conservation
Monitoring Centre provides information for policy and action to
conserve biological diversity.

http://www.conservation.org/xp/CIWEB/homeConservation
International's goal is to conserve biodiversity by demonstrating
how humankind kind live in harmony with the nature.

http://www.usaid.embaixada-americana.org.br/ The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an
independent U.S. federal government agency. It implements
programs that encourage sustainable development.

http://www.patrulha.com.br/Page0026x.htm S.O.S Mata
Atlantica's main objectives are to defend the remainders of
Atlantic Mata, to value the physical and cultural identity of the
communities human beings who inhabit them, to conserve
riquíssimo natural, historical and cultural patrimony existing in
these regions, searching its supported development

Introduction to the maned sloth

Three toed sloths are called such for the three long claws they have on the paws of their fore and hindlimbs. Three-toed sloths do not walk well on the ground, but are exceptionally good swimmers. They spend most of their lives hanging upside down in trees, even giving birth upside down. Even more interesting the sloth leaves the treetops every eight days to come down to the ground to deficate (Myers,1999). Sloths are slow moving but can be very territorial and will slash rivals with their sharp claws if threatened. The maned sloth is a member of the three-toed sloth family. They are covered with long, shaggy fur made up of thick hairs with longitudinal grooves. The grooves in the individual hairs contain algal cells that give the coat a greenish cast (Myers, 1999). Maned sloths have tan fur with a black mane on shoulders and the back of their necks.
Maned sloths have a very low metabolic rate. They have considerably reduced muscle mass, presumably to make room for the expansive gut, and are therefore unable to regulate body temperature by shivering. They have a low (30-34 degrees C) body temperature that they regulate by basking in the sun. (Jansa,1996)
Maned sloths eat sticks and leaves from trees. All sloths have multi-chambered stomachs with cellulose digesting bacteria which allows digestion of leaves (Jansa, 1996).
Females give birth once per year. They nurse the young for only six weeks, but will continue to carry their young on their backs for up to six months. Sloths reach sexual maturity at age three.

Conservation Status

The maned sloth is an endangered species. Its status on the United States Endangered Species Act list is Red List: EN Alcd (Edentate Specialist Group). It is also classified as EN A1cd on the IUCN list.

Conservation Issues

The Brazillian three-toed sloth is restricted to the Atlantic coastal forests of eastern Brazil in the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro. Population figures are unavailable. Habitat loss in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil is caused by overdevelopment and clearance for agriculture. Isolated from the Amazonian forests to the north and west, the Atlantic Forest ranks among the top five global biodiversity hotspots partly due to its high number of endemic species. Today, the Atlantic Forest is reduced to less than five percent of its original area (Villa-Lobos,1998). The area of the Mata Atlantica where the sloth lives has the highest human population in Brazil (UNEP). The maned sloth was previously hunted for its meat, but is now protected by law and poaching does not seem to prove a problem (Ximines). However, population numbers were lowered due to early hunting and now continue to fall greatly as overdevelopment and deforestation continue throughout the Mata Atlantica (UNEP).
Currently the WWF is working with the local communities of the Atlantic Forest through environmental education programs to protect the habitat of the maned sloth and many other endangered species of the area (WWF,2003). USAID is working as well on reduced-impact forest management and on providing alternatives to slash and burn agro forestry (USAID,2003). Conservation International (CI) is working with Socio-Environmental studies of Southern Bahia on conservation of the natural resources of Brazil. CI has built a canopy walkway in the Atlantic forest to stimulate the economy through tourism where deforestation/agriculture would have been used previously (ENN Daily News, 1997). Genetic samples are being taken from the sloth and other endangered animals in the region for future study. Scientists are also conducting studies of the sloth's quick healing abilities to find if there could be benifits for human medicinal purposes(UNEP, 2001)). Efforts to relocate maned sloths in more secure areas of the rainforest have been successful so far. However, conservation of these animals in zoos have proven to be unprofitable as none have ever survived longer than a few months in zoos (UNEP, 2001)).

Literature Cited

123Spot. January 3 2003. Sloth: Maned Sloth. http://www.123spot.com/AnimalDirectory/sloth2.html Accessed March 30, 2003.

ENN Daily News. Sept 2, 1997. Treetop Walkway Designed to Protect Brazilian Forest. www.wms.org/amazon/treetop_walk1.txt Accessed March 30, 2003.

IUCN World Conservation Union. 2003. Home page. http://www.iucn.org Accessed March 2003.

Jansa, Sharon. 1996 January 18. Bradypus torquatus. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/bradypus/ b._torquatus$narrative.html Accessed March 14,2003.

Myers, Phillip. 1999 June 12. Bradypodidae three toed sloths http://animaldiversity.unmz.umich.edu/chordata/mammalia/xenarthra/bradypodidae.html
Accessed March 14, 2003.

UNEP WCMC. 2001 October 30. Maned Sloth-Bradypus torquatus. http://www.unep-wcmc.org/index.html?http://www.unep-wcmc.org/species/data/species_sheets/manedslo.htm~main. Accessed March 25, 2003.

United States Agency for International Development. (date?) Homepage. http://www.usaid.embaixada-americana.org.br/ Accessed March 30, 2003.

US Fish & Wildlife Service. 2003. Homepage.http://endangered.fws.gov/ Accessed March 17, 2003.

Villa-Lobos, Jane. 1998. February. Biological Conservation Newsletter. No. 176. http://rathbun.si.edu/bcn/issue/176.cfm
Accessed March 25,2003.

World Wildlife Fund. 2003. Homepage. www.worldwildlife.org/ Accessed March 17,2003.

Ximines, Paula. Brazilian Three-Toed Sloth. Date unknown. http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/paulaximenes/sloth.htm Accessed March 30, 2003.

Author: Katie deButts & Ryan Peck
Creation/revision date: 4 April 2003

Earlham · Biology Department · Biology 26: Biological Diversity